Genetic database that identified Golden State Killer acquired by crime scene DNA company
2Reported today on The Verge
For the full article visit: https://www.theverge.com/2019/12/10/21005443/golden-state-killer-genetic-database-identity-company-acquisition-crime-scene-dna-data
Reported today in The Verge.
Genetic database that identified Golden State Killer acquired by crime scene DNA company
The crime scene DNA sequencing company Verogen announced yesterday that they've acquired the genomics database and website GEDmatch. The acquisition makes the relationship between the company and law enforcement explicit, but raises uncomfortable questions for users and experts about data privacy and the future direction of the platform.
GEDmatch was primarily used by genealogists until 2018, when police, the FBI, and a forensic genealogist identified the suspected Golden State Killer by tying crime scene DNA to relatives who had uploaded their genetic information to the site. Since then, the platform has helped identify around 70 people accused of violent crimes.
In response to privacy concerns, the company changed its terms and conditions last spring to only allow law enforcement access to data if users actively opted in. But until now, interaction with law enforcement was still a secondary function to the platform.
"Beforehand, it was somewhat of an ad hoc system, and whoever wanted to be there was going to come in and use it," says Brad Malin, co-director of the Center for Genetic Privacy and Identity in Community Settings at Vanderbilt University. The acquisition signals a shift in purpose. "Now, it will be used for law enforcement in a much more systematic manner than was the case."
The announcement took many in the genetics and genealogy community by surprise, and many genealogists are leaving the platform. "There have simply been too many changes, all of them in the direction of making their data the product rather than the website a service," said lawyer and genealogist Judy Russell in an email to The Verge.
GEDmatch users were prompted to